Back to Russia
by SpinningDreams
Summary: What would happen if Rose, instead of calling Sydney after she "killed" Dimitri, Rose called Tamara? What would happen if Rose never went back to the Academy? Would she go back to the Belikovas? Stay with Tamara? And would Dimitri find her?
1. Chapter 1

_**This is my first story and I'm just throwing it out there. Hope you like it!**_

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Chapter 1:

With shaking hands I dialed the number I vaguely remembered. A female voice answered.

" _Allo_."

"Tamara? This is Rose…"

" _OMG! Rose? What happened? Where are you? Are you okay?"_ She said her voice concerned.

"Calm down, I'm… well let's just say, that the strigoi I was hunting, he found me. I'll explain everything, but right now I'm on my way to Novosibirsk and I need a place to stay and heal." I didn't know what I would do after that. I had completed my mission, but I didn't want to go back to the academy. It held too many bad memories.

" _Of course, you're always welcome here"_

"Thank you! Could you maybe tell the woman I'm riding with, where to drive? My Russian isn't the best"

" _Sure, just hand over the phone to her"_

I did as instructed, and handed over the phone. The woman looked confused, so I pointed from the phone to her ear, hoping she would get it. She did and I leaned back in my seat in relief. I closed my eyes for a moment, my muscles aching and without the adrenaline thrumming through me, I was feeling exhausted. I heard the woman talking softly in Russian and after a couple of minutes fighting sleep, she touched my shoulder and when I opened my eyes, she handed the phone back. I lifted my sleep-heavy arm to bring the phone to my ear.

" _Everything is taken care of, they're going to set you off at my place and I will see you in a bit."_

"Thank you so much. I'll see you soon.

" _Of course, see you"_

She hung up and I finally let sleep take me.

…

After being dropped off and thanking the nice couple profusely in Russian, Tamara put a hand around my waist for support and we began climbing the stairs to her apartment. Every step was more exhausting than the last. Tamara unlocked the door and led me to the spare bedroom. After helping me change out of my bloody clothes and cleaning my wounds, Tamara shut the lights out with a whispered "goodnight".

As I closed my eyes, I saw _him_. Not the strigoi him, but the warm, kind and loving man he had always been. I was clinging to the memory of the old him, the one that chose to be with me no matter the consequences. The one who loved me no matter what. As I lay in the dark, I let sleep take me knowing that I had given him his rest. It didn't matter that I had no idea what would happen next, I had kept my promise.

…

I stayed with Tamara for 2 weeks. I used at least half of that time sleeping. My bruises were getting yellow, my cuts healing, but my heart hadn't healed one bit. _He_ left a gaping wound in my heart, that I was afraid would never heal.

Tamara had been nothing but nice to me, but I knew I didn't belong in that small apartment with her. She said that I could stay with her as long as I wanted and for that, I was grateful. The thing was that I didn't wanna stay in Novosibirsk. I wanted to go back to the Belikovas, but I was afraid they wouldn't let me stay and the academy wasn't an option.

During the two weeks that had gone by, Tamara must have sensed something was up, because one afternoon where we were hanging out, doing nothing particular in her apartment, she cautiously asked me "Rose?"

"Hhmm?" I answered, curious as to what she wanted to ask, since the caution was clear in her voice.

"Do you have any idea what you wanna do now? I mean, you're always welcome to stay as long as you want, but it doesn't seem like you want that. So do you? Have an idea?" Her voice was curious, yet careful. Like she was talking to a frightened deer, about to run.

"I uugghh… Look it's not that I don't appreciate you're hospitality, I really do, but it's just…" I couldn't form my words so they would match my feelings. It was frustrating. It looked like Tamara understood, regardless of me not saying anything particular.

"Look, I'm not claiming I know anything, but to me it sounds as if you miss someone. I have no idea who it could be, but that strigoi couldn't have held you captive for that long. As I said I don't know anything about you're time away, but I'm pretty certain even a strigoi couldn't have had Rose Hathaway for that long with her finding a way out." She was right about that. If I hadn't let _him_ bite I would have found a way out of there way faster, but I had let him bite me and I regretted it every day.

"And if you really do miss someone, then why don't you just travel back to them? What's holding you back?" My subconsciousness provided an image of an angry Viktoria outside of the dhampir club.

"You're right. There are some people I miss, but I'm not sure they ever want see me again and I'm not sure I could handle being rejected." My voice wavered and I couldn't speak, afraid if another word came out of my mouth, I would start crying. Tamara leaned over the chair to give me hug.

"I'm sure that if you think they're worth caring about, then they must be good people and I don't think good people could hate. You're a great person and you're worth caring about" her voice muffled, as she gave me a squeeze and pulled back to look me in the eyes.

"I really think you should give them a chance to prove your fears wrong" I could feel the hope growing in my chest and I had tears in my eyes at the thought of joining the Belikovas. Maybe I really could do this.

…

After that conversation, I started packing and booked tickets to take the exact same route as when I travailed with Sydney. On the train station, I hugged Tamara and thanked her for everything she had done. She made me promise to visit and I did. Tamara and I had become good friends and I didn't want to lose another friend. As I boarded the train, waving at Tamara, I thought of Lissa. I had blocked out her thoughts because I wasn't sure I could take seeing all my friends at home, moving on without me. I didn't wanna go back, but I knew that seeing everyone would be heartbreaking. As I looked for my cabin on the train, I felt a sudden sadness. I knew Lissa missed me and I hated being the cause of her pain, but I knew I couldn't go back. At least not yet.

I got a few weird looks from people on the train, I guessed it was because of all of my bruises. Even though I wore a long-sleeved shirt and jeans that covered all my bruises well, I still had a split lip, a huge bruise on my cheekbone and my ankle in a cast. I ignored everyone and slipped into my cabin.

I lay my bag that held very little clothes, a tooth- and hair-brush and an extra stake I had purchased in Novosibirsk, on the floor and crashed onto the bed. To my relief the curtains were already drawn, so I didn't have to stand up and close them. I kicked my boots of, got rid of my jacket and crawled under the covers. I still wasn't completely healed and healing took a lot of energy out of me. Therefore I was exhausted. I shifted around and when I found a comfortable positon, it took all of three seconds to fall asleep.

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 _ **That was the end of chapter 1. Should I continue this?**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**I got so encouraged by you guys to write more, that I sat down and wrote another thousand words. I want to thank everyone who followed, favorited and reviewed. I was really surprised and happy someone liked it. Here is the next chapter, hope you like it!**_

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'After sleeping five hours, I was awoken by a nightmare. I sat up panting, trying to force the memories about strigoi Dimitri out of my head. When I calmed down enough to stop crying and heaving for my breath, I got out of bed and decided to look around and find food. I hadn't eaten much breakfast, so I was starving. As I limped my way through the train, I got a new bunch of weird looks. I just tried to ignore them and find what I set out to find. Food.

When I reached the buffet, I sat down at one of the barstools to wait for a waiter. I put my elbows on the table in front of me and put my head in my hands. I was still shaken from my nightmare and didn't quite perceive that someone poked me in the shoulder.

"Uumh, miss?" I looked up and to my right, where there sat a young man with a concerned look on his face.

"Yes?" I took in his appearance. He was average height, blond and had blue eyes. Oh and he was a dhampir.

"Are you okay? Do you need help contacting an Academy?" He knew I was a Dhampir and he guessed I wasn't old enough to be out of training. _Shit._

"I'm fine. I'm on a mission" I lied. I tried to sound dismissive and hoped he would leave me alone. He apparently wouldn't.

"Okay, what mission?" He tried to look intimidating as if he could scare me to tell him.

"What does it matter? I don't even know your name" I looked at him with a tired expression, wondering if I could pity him into leaving me alone. He still wouldn't let it go.

"Well, my name is Aiden, what's yours? It matters because you could be lying. You could be in trouble or on the run from your Academy. And I can't help you if I don't know what's going on" He sounded genuinely concerned and I decided to give him a half-truth.

"My name is Rose and I'm on my way to tell a family, that their son and brother, has died" He looked surprised and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, the waiter came and asked what we would like in a chirpy voice. I ordered a very big brunch and Aiden just ordered a coffee. After the waiter left, his nice smile he had put on for the waiter fell and he turned serious again.

"Why would you travel all the way to Russia to deliver that message? You sound American, so you must have travelled a long way" He looked surprised I would travel that far, but of course, he didn't know that I knew _Him._

"I knew him. He was my mentor. And I just wanted to deliver the news personally" I felt tears built in my eyes, but I pushed them down. Just thinking about _Him_ dying (both the battle and me staking him), made me want to break down crying.

"Oh. I'm very sorry for your loss" he looked unsure of what to say. Maybe he saw that I cared about _Him_ a little too much. We sat in silence for a couple of minutes, before the waitress came back with what we had ordered.

"Where are you headed?" It looked like he wanted to ask more, but held back.

"Baia" I wasn't sure I should give him more information, I didn't trust him. But if it came down to a fight I could hold my own and I would make sure he knew it too.

"What's your mentor's name? I may know him; I know many people from there. I grew up there" I decided to tell him, he seemed trust worthy. Not that I trusted him.

"Dimitri Belikov" I choked out. It was the first time I had said his name since talking to strigoi him. I hadn't even thought of his name. It hurt me to the core to say his name. As I came out of my thoughts, I saw the pain on Aiden's face. He looked sad and lost. He knew _Him._ "You knew him, didn't you?" I could see the pain in his eyes.

"I… Yeah, yeah I did. We went to school together for years, we still kept in touch. I was actually getting worried; I haven't talked to him in a few weeks. What happened to him?" He looked pained. If Dimitri deemed Aiden trust worthy, then I knew I could trust him.

So I told him everything. That I already had told the Belikovas that Dimitri was dead, but not really dead; a strigoi. I told him what happened with the unpromised guys I had met and about hunting with them. How I had failed Dimitri's first lesson; don't hold back. I didn't tell him about the biting, but I did tell I escaped and staked Dimitri. That Dimitri was dead. Really dead.

Surprisingly it felt really good to talk about it. To tell someone. After I told him everything, he sat in shocked silence, processing. Then he thanked me. I couldn't say I wasn't surprised, but I understood what he was thanking me for. He was thanking me for saving Dimitri from a horrible fate. After all that he steered our conversation to more lighter subjects. We talked about where I came from, where he came from. How I met Dimitri and how Aiden met him. We shared our good memories about Dimitri and came to know each other.

When the train came to his stop he had to get off, but before he left we exchanged numbers. I had a feeling we could be good friends and right now I needed as many friends as I could get.

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 _ **I can write more if you guys want it?**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**I hurried to get this out to you guys. Updates will be slower because school is starting up again. Also I wanted to ask if you guys would like short chapter like this but faster updates or longer chapters but fewer updates? Also thanks to all of the reviews you guys made, they made me really happy and encouraged me to write more.**_

 _ **Here is chapter three, hope you like it!**_

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I spent the rest of the trip eating and sleeping without nightmares. I felt a knot of nervousness in my stomach, the closer I got to Baia. As I sat in my cabin, thought of all the possible outcomes. The most likely would be that the Belikovas- plus Paul, minus Viktoria, would be happy to see me. But there was also the possibility that Viktoria had made them mad at me. Or that they simply hated me for leaving without saying goodbye. No, that's not possible, the Belikovas really liked me and would be happy to see me. Or so I hoped.

When I step out of the train, I immediately spot the car-rent shop. The same as Sydney and I had used. Though I don't rent the same car, because that would draw to much attention and I didn't want to raise any heads. The strigoi was still out there and I didn't want another run in.

I drove all day to be able to get to the motel before nightfall. As I drove, I started the radio and immediately country music blasted, I hurried to turn down the volume. When I turned the music down to reasonable volume, I realized that it was the kind of music Dimitri always used to listen to.

As I sat in my rented car with the sun just about to go down, I felt tears trickle down my cheeks. Soon they turned to sobs that ripped through me and the song was still playing. I finally felt everything I had pushed down. My world came crashing down and I struggled to pull over on the road. I stopped the car and leaned my head on the steering wield and just sobbed. And sobbed and sobbed, all the while the country music was still playing.

I had no idea how long I sat there, but when I heard a thump, as if someone hit the car, I was immediately alert and my tears had stopped. I cursed. My crying had slowed me down and now the sun had gone down. Even with my dhampir eyes it was hard to see anything. I heard another thump and the car shaked from the hit. I took out my stake, made sure my knife was still in my boot and tied my hair up with an elastic.

I felt my body get ready for a fight and stepped out of the car. Immediately I was hit in the side. I stumbled a few steps but sprung back and got in a defensive stance. I had all of three seconds to take in the red eyes and pale skin of the strigoi attacking, before I had to block another hit. I took a step back and kicked the strigoi in the ribs, before quickly backing off. He doubled over but recovered fast with a kick of his own. We circled each other and exchanged hits and kicks. As he threw himself at me, I duck under his arm and kicked him in the back as hard as I could. He fell and before he could get up, I staked him the back. Dead.

I stood panting for mere seconds before I heard foot-steps. My wild side wanted to stay and fight, but my rational, guardian side told me to get out of there. There could be a lot more and even though I knew I could hold my own in a fight, I wasn't sure how many strigoi there was and it would be stupid to take them on without knowing how many there were. So instead of getting ready for another fight I rushed to my rented car and started driving. Fast.

I didn't want any of the strigoi to follow me and it could have been humans. I didn't want to get arrested for killing a strigoi. Though they didn't know it was a strigoi and therefore I wouldn't have a valid explanation as to why I just murdered a random guy.

I sped all the way to the motel and thankfully I wasn't stopped by the police. Small blessings. As got out of the car I felt my new injuries. I hadn't before because of the adrenaline, but now I felt the bruises he had left on me. He got me in the ribs, I felt my cheekbone ache from a hit and my limp was worse. He had been smart enough to notice that I savored my right leg and had kicked me in my injurie. Therefor I understood the surprise I saw in the host' eyes at the sight of me. A barely 18-year-old girl, with multiple injuries and a limp. I booked a room for the night and I could see in the host' eyes that he wanted to ask if I was alright, but chose not to.

After getting the key, and limping to my room, I digged out my med-kit from my bag, and started rapping up new injuries. I felt my eyes dropping and when I was done, I changed out of my bloody clothes, into sweats and a t-shirt. As soon as I was under the covers, I let my eyes drop and sleep come.

…

My sleep was tormented by nightmares of Strigoi-Dimitri. At around 5 am I was too restless to stay in bed. I re-dressed my injuries and checked on my leg. I went down to the kitchen and was not surprised to find it empty, except for a chef making morning bread. Some of the bread was already out and I asked politely in the best Russian I could, if I could have a piece or two. He looked at me in barely masked pity and gave me some of the bread and some butter and cheese. I thanked him profusely and hurried to my room.

I put on jeans and a hoodie- to better hide my injuries. Then I paid for my room to a very grumpy and sleepy clerk at the front desk. I then went to find my car and when I did, I drove slowly out of the parking lot and headed the rest of the way to Baia.


End file.
